Animal simulating tricycle attachment



Jan. 20, 1953 L. E. THACKER ANIMAL SIMULATING TR ICYCLE ATTACHMENT 2Sl-IEETS--SHEET' 1 Filed April 6, 1951 Jan. 20, 1953 El THACKER ANIMALSIMULATING TRICYCLE ATTACHMENT 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 6, 1951 IN VEN TOR. A OM .E'. Tune/r5 Patented Jan. 20, 1953 ANIMAL SIMULATIN GTRICYCLE ATTACHMENT Loma E. Thacker, Mountain Home, Tenn.

Application April 6, 1951, Serial No. 219,640

This invention relates to wheeled toys, and more particularly to a toyanimal to be ridden by a child and which provides a rocking motion whenso ridden.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved ridingtoy in the nature of an attachment for a conventional tricycle, said toybeing simple in construction, being easy to mount on a conventionaltricycle, and providing a rocking action when the tricycle is ridden.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved tricycleattachment whereby a conventional tricycle may be converted into ariding toy, such as a hobbyhorse or the like, the attachment being veryinexpensive to manufacture, involving only a few parts, being sturdy inconstruction, affording a substantial degree of amusement for a child,and providing healthful exercise and recreation for the child.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claim, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing an improved attachmentaccording to the present invention mounted on a tricycle;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view taken throughthe attachment on the line 2-2 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the riding toy shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line l-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, perspective, detail view showing the guidemember and roller which receives one end portion of the bell crank leverforming part of the operating mechanism of the tricycle attachment ofthe present invention;

Figure 6 is an enlarged, cross-sectional detail view taken on line 6-6of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, I designates a tricycle which is of generallyconventional construction except that its rear axle, shown at I2, isformed at its intermediate portion with an enlarged U-bend designated at3. The frame of the tricycle includes the main supporting member H whichextends longitudinally and which is rigidly connected to the yoke member|5. The rear wheels H5, H5 are secured on the transverse end portionsl1, ll of the rear axle l2, said transverse end portions being rotatablyreceived in the ends of the yoke I5.

Designated generally at |8 is a form of improved rocking attachmentaccording to the present invention, the attachment being made, for

1 Claim. (Cl. 280-1192) Y 2 example, in the shape of alhorse. Theattachment comprises a main body portion l9 which has secured to itssides the respective spacer members.

20, 20, said members having secured to their sides the longitudinallyextending wall elements 2|, 2|. Secured to the wall elements 2|, 2| arethe front legs 22 and the rear legs 23. The main body portion I9 may beformed at its rear end with an outwardly extending portion 24 simulatinga tail. As shown, theupper portions of the members I9, 20 and 2| areshaped to define the contour of a horse, and the'outer wall elements 2|,2| are shaped at their lower portions to further simulate the lowerportions of the horse. From Figure 4 it will be seen that the attachmentis generally channel-shaped in cross-section and straddles thelongitudinal support member M of the frame of the tricycle. The forwardportion of the attachment is pivotally secured to the forward portion ofthe longitudinal frame member I 4 by a transverse pin member 25 whichextends through the frame member l4 and through one of the members 20,as shown in Figure 6. A suitable bushing 26 may be provided in themember 29 to receive the pin member.

Designated at 21 is a depending rigid arm secured to one of the members2|. Connected between the lower end of the arm 21 and the rear endportion of the longitudinal frame member I4 is a spring 28 which biasesthe body of the attachment counterclockwise around the pivot pin 25, asviewed in Figures 1 and 2. Designated at 29 is a bell crank lever whichis pivoted at its intermediate portion to the intermediate portion ofthe longitudinal support member M, as shown at 30. One end of the bellcrank lever 29 is connected by a link bar 3| to the bight portion of theU-bend 3 of the rear axle I2. The other portion of the bell crank lever29 is slidably received in a U-shaped bracket member 32 pivotallysecured to the inside wall of one of the members 2| by a transverse boltmember 33, as shown in Figures 2 and 5. Rotatably mounted on the bolt 33above the arm of lever 29 is a roller 34 which is engaged by the arm oflever 29 and which facilitates movement of said arm back and forth inthe pivoted bracket 32. As shown in Figure 2, said arm is arcuatelycurved to facilitate its reciprocation back and forth in the bracket 32.

In operation, a child is seat-ed on the attachment I8 and operates thetricycle in the usual manner by rotating the pedals shown at 35.Movement of the tricycle causes the rear wheels l6, IE to rotate and torevolve the axle l 2. Rotation of the axle I2 rotates the U-shaped bend|3 and transmits rocking motion to the bell crank lever 29 by means ofthe link 3 I. Rocking of the bell crank lever is transmitted to the mainbody of the attachment by the arcuately curved upper aim of the bellcrank lever which engages the roller 34 and which reciprocates in the U-shaped bracket 32. The body of the attachment, therefore, oscillatesvertically responsive to the movement of the tricycle. This provides arocking action which is highly entertaining to children.

The spring 28 provides a counterbalancing effect which biases the bodyof the attachment toward its position of maximum elevation, the body ofthe attachment being depressed by the weight of the child sittingthereon. The spring 28 aids the body of the attachment in rising, as itis urged upwardly by the arcuate upper arm of bell crank lever 29 duringthe motion of the tricycle.

While a specific embodiment of an improved rocking animal attachment fora tricycle has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will beunderstood that various modifications within the spirit of the inventionmay occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that nolimitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope ofthe appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a tricycle, a, longitudinally extending upper main frame member, afork member secured to the rear end of said frame member, a transverseaxle rotatably mounted in said fork member, said axle being offset atits intermediate portion, a longitudinally extending support memberpivoted to the forward portion of said frame member for rotation in alongitudinal vertical plane, said support member being shaped tosimulate the body of an animal, the bottom of said support member beinglongitudinally grooved and receiving said main frame member, a bellcrank lever pivoted at its intermediate portion to the intermediateportion of the main frame member, one end portion of said lever beingengageable in the rear portion of the longitudinal groove in the bottomof said support member, a link connecting the opposite end portion ofsaid lever to the offset intermediate portion of the axle, wherebyrotation of said axle causes said body to oscillate vertically, adepending arm carried by the forward portion of said support member, anda spring connecting said depending arm to the rear portion of the framemember and biasing the rear portion of the support member upwardly.

LOMA E. THACKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 89,695 Smith May 4, 18692,021,531 Urytzky Nov. 19, 1935 2,518,899 Kelleher Aug. 15, 19502,546,822 Herrick Mar. 2'7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date245,521 Italy Feb. 25, 1926 733,469 France July 11, 1932

